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CONFERENCE  

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    GAME NARRATIVE
Monday, March 25 & Tuesday, March 26

The Game Narrative Summit is new to the GDC after seven years at GDC Online in Austin. It covers interactive narrative in all its forms, from AAA blockbusters to indie games to transmedia projects. The event features an all-star lineup of speakers from every corner of the discipline, with session content ranging from the advanced and theoretical to hands-on workshops for writers, designers and others seeking to hone their skills. We hope the Game Narrative Summit will attract attendees from all over the world with a passionate interest in the ongoing evolution of interactive storytelling as a driving force in the future of entertainment.

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2013 HIGHLIGHTED SESSIONS

Narrative in Games - Role, Forms, Problems, and Potential
Warren Spector (Independent)
 
This talk will cover one developer's view of the unique role of narrative in interactive entertainment. We'll discuss key similarities, and perhaps more importantly, key differences between narrative approaches appropriate to games and approaches taken by creators in other, seemingly similar media. What can game developers learn from other media and what should we steer clear of? The talk will conclude with a set of specific problems standing between games and more compelling interactive stories.
Tastes Like Chicken: Authenticity in a Totally Fake World
Jay Posey (Red Storm Entertainment)
 
Game writers today have an unprecedented ability to immerse players in richly-developed worlds. But with that ability comes the enormous challenge, opportunity, and responsibility to deliver experiences that feel authentic, even when everything else about our worlds is completely fake. In this lecture, Posey draws from his experience working on Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon franchise, to explore a set of principles that can be applied to any genre. The talk will cover differences between realism and authenticity, the importance of research, the role of entertainment, and even how our fans contribute to their own acceptance of our game worlds.
Bringing the Game to Life - Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (Postmortem)
Kiki Wolfkill (343 Industries, Microsoft)
Matt McCloskey (343 Industries, Microsoft)
Kevin Grace (343 Industries, Microsoft)
Frank O'Connor (343 Industries, Microsoft)
 
343 Industries faced many challenges when they took on the 10-year-old Halo universe, and all the fan expectations that accompanied that universe. One of the most daunting tasks was determining how to introduce such an established fiction to potential brand-new fans, while simultaneously rewarding those who have played every game and read every book in the sizable, extended Halo fiction collection. Responding to fan appreciation of previous live-action marketing campaigns, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn was born. In this talk, 343 Industries will do a postmortem of the creation of the groundbreaking web series, and what lessons were learned. The talk will cover everything from developing partnerships in Hollywood, adapting game content for different media, and how to coordinate fiction between the very different schedules of movies and game creation.
The Future of Storytelling: How Medium Shapes Story
Jesse Schell (Schell Games)
 
The human race has an appetite for stories that is ancient and insatiable. Whenever a new medium appears, it is flooded with stories, which immediately take the shape best suited for that medium. In this talk, we will examine the history of how different mediums have shaped and re-shaped the story, cull out the most useful patterns, use them to look forward to the mediums we know are coming next, and make some bold predictions about the shape of stories to come.
We Are Not Heroes: Contextualizing Violence through Narrative
Walt Williams (2K Games)
 
In 2012, 2K Games released the genre-bending, military shooter Spec Ops: The Line, and received critical acclaim for a provocative and mature narrative that spoke directly to the act of playing it. Join lead writer and narrative designer Walt Williams, as he discusses how crafting the game's story, themes, and choices around its most basic mechanic (shooting), led to a more immersive and emotionally impactful experience.
ZombiU: Creating an Undead Cult
Antony Johnston (N/A)
Gabrielle Shrager (Ubisoft Montpellier)
 
Another zombie game? Really? Award-winning ZombiU writers Gabrielle Shrager (story design director, Ubisoft Montpellier) and Antony Johnston (New York Times best-selling graphic novelist and games writer) retrace the steps that led from 'just another zombie shooter' to a game rich with mythology, backstory, and narrative. They will explain how narrative ideas and concepts influenced gameplay, visual design, and even marketing in ways that helped ZombiU become one of the most anticipated launch titles for the Wii U. As a double act, fluent in one-and-a-half languages, Gabrielle and Antony guarantee to entertain!* *(Guarantee only valid in the event of a zombie holocaust. No refunds.)

GAME NARRATIVE SUMMIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Tom Abernathy
Microsoft Studios
 
Tom Abernathy is a narrative designer at Microsoft Studios, where his most recent release is KINECT RUSH: A DISNEY/PIXAR ADVENTURE. Other game credits include HALO: REACH, THE SABOTEUR, CRIMSON ALLIANCE and numerous award nominations for his work on DESTROY ALL HUMANS! and DESTROY ALL HUMANS! 2. In 2009 he was honored as one of "The Gamasutra 20: Top Game Writers" by Gamasutra.com. A graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, he has worked for nearly thirty years as a professional writer, filmmaker, theater director, actor, composer and musician, including fourteen years in games as a writer/designer and VO/cinematic director. Originally from Atlanta, he now lives in Seattle, where he is undergoing treatment for seasonal affective disorder. You can read his intemperate and ill-advised rants on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tomabernathy.
Lev Chapelsky
Blindlight
 
Lev Chapelsky is a founding partner and GM for Blindlight, a Hollywood-based company that works exclusively for the video game industry, providing game producers with consultative advice on working with outsource talent, as well as soup-to-nuts production of outsourced projects. Blindlight's core disciplines include story development, script writing, celebrity acquisition, and voiceover production.

Since its founding in 2000, Blindlight has earned over 300 game credits and a client list that includes 19 of the top 20 game publishers. Blindlight continues to work as part of extended development teams on original game properties, including the Halo, Splinter Cell, Far Cry, Elder Scrolls, Dishonored, Fallout, Tomb Raider, Guild Wars, and Destiny franchises, and on dozens of film and TV licensed properties. Lev holds a B.F.A. degree from Notre Dame, an M.B.A. from UCLA, and a degree in International Business Management from The Stockholm School of Economics.
Richard Dansky
Ubisoft/Red Storm
 
As Central Clancy writer, Richard has been with Red Storm/Ubisoft for over a decade. He has worked on games in series such as Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, Far Cry, and Might and Magic, among others, with his next title being the upcoming Splinter Cell: Blacklist. An executive of the IGDA Writers' Special Interest Group, Richard is the author of the critically acclaimed novel, "Firefly Rain." He has also contributed to numerous books on games and game design, including the award-winning, "Hobby Games: The 100 Best." Previously, Richard wrote four novels and worked on more than a hundred role-playing game books for White Wolf Game Studios. His published work includes short fiction as well as literary criticism, book and music reviews, humor, and a brief stint as the world's greatest authority on Denebian Slime Devils. He lives in North Carolina with his wife Melinda Thielbar and their inevitable cats. You can find him online at www.richarddansky.com.
Mary DeMarle
Eidos Montreal
 
Mary DeMarle has worked in the game industry as both a freelance contract writer and a full-time narrative game designer/writer for over 15 years. Her work crosses genres and playstyles, and includes such award-winning titles as Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Homeworld II, Myst III: Exile, Myst IV: Revelation, Dungeon Siege: Broken Sword, and the Splinter Cell license. She is currently working as a narrative director at Eidos Montreal.
Susan O'Connor
Susan O'Connor Writing Studio
 
Susan O'Connor is a writer. She works with studios to create worlds and adventures for video games. Titles in her portfolio have sold over ten million copies and generated more than half a billion dollars in sales. Gamasutra has named her as one of the top writers working in the video game industry today. She has been a featured speaker at SXSW, TEDx, and the Austin Film Festival. A native of Austin, O'Connor now lives in San Francisco and splits her time between game projects, TV assignments, and surfing. She is represented by United Talent Agency.

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